The local press reported on an investigation by the Ministry of State Security that led to the dismantling of the attempted infiltration and theft of confidential information, as well as plans to sabotage the technological infrastructure responsible for national time synchronization.

The institution explained that the center, located in Shaanxi province, provides high-precision timekeeping services for sectors such as telecommunications, finance, energy, transportation, and defense, in addition to contributing to the calculation of international standard time.

According to the investigation released by The Paper, the US NSA began its operations in March 2022, when it exploited vulnerabilities in messaging services from a foreign brand to access the phones of several center employees and obtain sensitive data.

In April 2023, the attackers used the stolen credentials to access the center’s computer systems and reach information about its internal network.

Subsequently, between August 2023 and June 2024, they deployed 42 types of specialized tools to execute high-intensity attacks and attempt to infiltrate the high-precision ground timing system.

Chinese authorities stated that the attacks were carried out primarily during the early morning hours, using servers in the United States, Europe, and Asia to conceal their origin.

The perpetrators employed fake digital certificates, advanced encryption, and trace-elimination techniques to conceal their activity.

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